Basin for washing and drying pets

ABSTRACT

A basin for washing, rinsing and drying pets comprises a basin body and a basin support. The basin body includes a flat basin bottom, side walls, a front wall and a rear wall. A portion of the front wall is removable from the basin body, and a connecting area between said front, rear and side walls and said flat basin bottom is formed with a narrow rounded cross sectional shape. The basin support includes a device for sucking water from the animal&#39;s fur, a device for drying the animal&#39;s fur, a well for discharging liquids, a separator means located either inside the well or downstream of the well for separating toxic liquid from non-toxic liquids.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a basin provided with a basin support(pedestal), and more particularly, to a basin to be used in shops orrooms for the hygenic care of animals, in order to wash and dry dogs,cats or other animals.

BACKGROUND ART

The basins used nowadays in rooms for the care of animals, are usuallytubs for humans, connected to the wall at a required height, so as tolet them become functional for the operator who has to wash the animal(a dog, a cat, etc.) inside them. As known, the procedure used today forwashing or drying an animal, consists of:

washing and rinsing the animal inside the basin;

removing the animal from the basin, placing it on a bracket or a table;

removing as much water as possible from the animal, using towels and/orbuckskin;

completing the drying by means of a dryer incorporating electricresistance and being of an industrial kind.

All this results in:

waste of time (the towels and/or buckskin remove only 70% to 80% of thewater; afterwards they must be washed and dried on their turn in orderto be reused);

waste of energy and lack of hygiene (industrial dryers use 3000 to 4000Watts; they cause air ionization;

they spread hair and dead parasites into the environment which are notremoved by the towels; usually they comprise materials giving rise tocancer, such as asbestos, etc.; the drying time is considerable, sincethe water quantity which has remained on the animal is elevated);

the configuration and the characteristic features of the basins are notadequate for this particular application, i.e. washing of the animals(dogs slip inside the basin).

FR- 2,625,070 discloses a basin with water re-circulation andfiltration, and with a shower hose.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The object of the present invention is that of eliminating all thedrawbacks which have been mentioned above, by realizing a basin providedwith a basin support containing devices for sucking water, hair and deadparasites from the animal, and for producing hot air under pressure inorder to complete the drying operation. All this is accomplished so asto allow to completely wash, rinse and dry the animal inside the basin,eliminating the use of towels, and meanwhile taking account of thehygienic and sanitary standards which are required by the relevant laws.

According to the present invention, these objects are attained by meansof a basin provided with a basin support, having one or more of thefollowing features,

it facilitates introduction and removal of the animal to and from thebasin;

it facilitates drying of the animal;

it is provided with a sump (well) for collecting and dischargingliquids, containing a removable grating for collecting hair and othersolid impurities;

it is provided, on the discharge duct, with a three-way valve, allowingto separate polluted liquids from non-polluted ones;

it allows the introduction inside the basin, of panels in differentheights, in order to facilitate washing and drying of small animals;

it is provided, inside the basin support, with:

a) a rotary centrifugal compressor (or multistage centrifugal blower),which:

1) at one end generates a vacuum in order to suck liquids and othermaterials, through an appropriate hose and a connecting tube;

2) and, at the other end, transmits kinetic and compression energy tothe air, in order to heat it up and convey it towards a utilizationcircuit, acting as a "hair dryer".

b) A tank for collecting and retaining water, hair, etc. By using theabove arrangement, the compressor will consume an electric power of only1100 Watt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The features of the invention and its advantages will be more clearlyunderstood by reading the following detailed description referring tothe annexed drawings and given only for illustrative and non-limitativepurposes, whereby:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of the basin of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the basin of FIG. 1, without theremovable front wall portion;

FIG. 3 shows the same basin, according to a front view of the basin ofFIG. 1, without the removable front wall portion;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross sectional views which are respectively takenalong the lines a--a and b--b in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the closure grating of the sump (well);

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the small filtration basket to beinserted inside the sump chamber;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a small vessel to be introduced insidethe sump chamber, instead of the small filtration basket of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the removable front wall portion of the basin;

FIG. 10 shows the side view of the removable front wall portion of FIG.9;

FIG. 11 is a cross section view taken along the line by c--c of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a cross section view identical of the basin according to theinvention;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken along the linesd--d in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of the basin support;

FIG. 16 is a transversal cross section taken along the plane e--e ofFIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a front elevational view of the basin of FIG. 1, like FIG. 1,wherein the front closure door is omitted, and the centrifugalcompressor and the tank are made visible;

FIG. 19 shows the compressor and the tank, and the relative connectingtubes; and

FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of a frusto-conical hose employed inthe present invention; and

FIG. 21 shows an exploded elevational view of a three way valveconstructed in accordance with the invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In the figures, the same alpha-numeric references designate the sameparts or elements.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the number 1 indicates the body of thebasin, 2 the removable wall portion--which is connected by chains 3 tothe basin body -, and 4 the sump or well through which water isdischarged.

A basin for washing dogs and/or other animals, does not need to befilled with water or to contain a minimal quantity of it; since theanimal has to be wetted or soaked, rubbed with shampoo, and rinsed;water must be able to flow directly to the discharge duct withoutaccumulating itself on the bottom of the basin. Therefore, the basin ofthe present invention differs from known basins (consisting of a simplevessel provided with a water discharge hole) in that it has thefollowing features;

a connecting area between the walls and the basin bottom having narrowrounded cross sectional shape (FIGS. 4, 5, 12, 13), for preventing theanimal to slip (as happens with conventional basins). A wall 1/a, whichcontacts the room's wall, is straight and vertical; the front wall 1/bis slanted towards the operator away from wall 1/a; the basin's bottom1/c is flat; the curved regions R between basins bottom 1/c and walls1/a, 1/b have a tight radius forming an angle;

Basin 1 is provided with a sump or well 4 (in the form of an insert oran integral part) in order to discharge the liquids (no known basin hasa sump), this sump having a pierced closure grating 24 (FIG. 6). Insidethe sump chamber either of the following may be inserted:

a small filtration basket 25 (FIG. 7), which is used for retaining thehair and other solid impurities;

a small vessel 26 (FIG. 8) (instead of the small basket 25, FIG. 7), inorder to retain the liquid, when using parasites killing substances.This liquid, after having been filled in appropriate containers, will bebrought to plants for disposal of toxic products;

Basin 1 is provided with guides or reliefs 5 (FIG. 12), whereon it ispossible to support one or more panels 6, which are spaced apart fromthe basin bottom 1/c, and on which small animals may be placed, wherebysaid animals would be washed and dried with difficulty if they wereplaced directly on the basin bottom 1/c;

Basin 1 adapted to be connected to or inserted on the basin support 11(FIG. 15 and following figures). Said features are advantageous for thebasin 1 in the following sense:

ease of use during washing and drying of the animal;

advantages from the sanitary point of view, since the liquids to beregenerated can be recovered;

advantages as regards prevention of injuries, since it is no longernecessary to lift the animal in order to place it inside the basin; andfurther the animal does not slip any more, since the basin has a flatbottom without rounded regions, so that the animal will be relaxed andthere is no possibility that it bites. The plate or removable part 2(FIGS. 9, 10, 11) which forms the movable part of the front wall 1/b ofthe basin 1, consists of a panel--like structure having projecting edges2/a, 2/b on all but the upper side thereof, said edges allowinginsertion of the panel 2 in the respective aperture obtained in thefront wall of the basin 1, in such a way that the panel remains attachedto it. The outside edge 2/b may project more then the edge 2/a, so as toprovide a backing means against the basin body, facilitating itsinsertion.

The basin support (FIG. 15 and following figures) is formed with a body11 or supporting structure consisting of two lateral uprights 11/a-11/b;a frame 11/c made up of tubular components connected to each other andto the uprights by welding; a semicircular sector 11/d forming an"L"-shaped section bar which is also integral with the frame 11/c.

The number 12 indicates the radial centrifugal compressor, which isconventional, and is fixed to the frame 11/c by means of screws; 13designates an usual tank or can, used to suck liquids and which isinserted (not fixed) on the circular sector 11/d. The compressor 12 andthe tank or can 13 connected to each other in a known manner, cooperateto form the liquid suction section, by means of which it is possible torealize the first step of the drying operation on the animal locatedinside the basin 1, after it has been washed and rinsed) whereas theoutlet of the compressor produces a hot air jet and makes up the"hair-dryer" section.

The assembly formed by the compressor 12, the can 13 and the tubeslodged inside the basin support, is shown in FIG. 19. The suction orintake rube 27 having an end mouth 19, is attached to the part 20/a of asleeve integral with the body 11 (FIG. 17). Outside, on the part 20/b ofsaid sleeve, another tube (not shown) is attached thereto, which endsinto a known hose used to suck liquids. The blowing tube 21, extendingfrom the blowing outlet 55 of the compressor 12, ends into a mouth 22which is connected to the part 23/a of a second sleeve integral with thebody 11, whereas on the part 23/b, a tube 28 is attached, ending up intoa frusto-conical hose which is used as a "hair-dryer" (FIG. 20).

All mentioned tubes are flexible tubes. The construction of a basin forwashing animals, with a basin support incorporating a device having aliquid suction and a hair-drying function, is an absolutely novel idea.

The basin support further includes:

a magnetothermic starter 15 to start the motor of the compressor 12;

a front door or cover 16, which is easily disassembled (or which isanyway openable) in order to facilitate removal of the can 13 for itsdaily emptying and for maintenance operations;

possible drawers 17 which contain combs, brushes, etc.

a rear closure panel 18.

The inner space of the basin support also has the function of enclosingand hiding from the outside, the discharge duct of the basin 1 and itscorresponding drain-trap, or anything else may be applied thereon,allowing to perform maintenance on these parts, for example a three-wayvalve used to separate polluted liquids from non-polluted ones, orpossibly a container for collecting polluted liquids. Obviously theinvention is not limited to the constructive details which have beenillustrated and/or described herein, but it comprises also all thosevariants and equivalent embodiments which are realized starting from thepresent inventive concept, as for instance:

in the discharge duct of the basin sump, upstream of the drain-trap,there may be inserted a fluid flow deflector or the three way valvegenerally indicated as 70, which may be operated manually, automaticallyor semiautomatically, having the function of deflecting the non-pollutedliquids towards the sewer or of deflecting polluted liquids towards anappropriate sump or container, avoiding the use of the vessel of FIG. 8.For example, as is known in the art, under a automatic mode, when theparasite killing substance is used and is contained in a containerattached to a wall, the faucet of this container is electronicallyconnected to the three-way valve 70,- which in this case is a solenoidvalve-, so that when opening the faucet the valve automatically makesthe toxic liquids flow into a container, instead to the sewer.

it is possible to associate to the basin, according to the known art.

a faucet set provided with a hot/cold water mixer, and a small showercomprising a flexible tube; or lateral support planes 8--FIG. 1, or acollection tank for polluted liquids, including an overflow detector anda signaling device indicating that a predetermined level has beenreached; or at last, a coin box for a timed operation of the compressor;

it is possible to introduce two separate known devices inside the basinsupport, in order to obtain the liquid suction and hair-dryer operation.

We claim:
 1. A basin for washing, rinsing and drying pets comprising:aplurality of walls and a flat basin bottom forming an enclosuresubstantially without rounded connection regions therebetween; a portionof at least one of the walls being removable from the at least one ofwalls; panels disposed between the walls providing a support for smallerpets thereon; a basin support, water removal means, disposed within saidbasin support, for sucking water from the fur of a pet supported on saidpanels and for providing a hot air jet within the walls for drying thepet supported on the panel; a well mounted on the basin for receiving adischarge of liquids, separation means communicating with said well forseparating toxic liquids from non-toxic liquids which are disposedwithin said well or downstream thereof.
 2. A basin according to claim 1,further comprising a can, a pierced small basket disposed within saidwell to filter hair or other solid impurities from the discharge ofliquids, said separation means including a three way valve for drainingthe liquid towards an appropriate container or sewer, said well having asleeve, the three way valve being mounted on the sleeve of the well andbeing one of manually operable, semi-automatic or automatic;said meansfor sucking water including a centrifugal radial compressor and tank forcontaining water or other impurities sucked from the pet, a suctionhose, a first part connecting the compressor and the can to the supportthrough the suction hose to provide a liquid suction operation forremoving water, hair and dead parasites from the fur of the pet; and aflexible tube; a second part connecting the compressor to the base andsupport through the flexible tube to provide a hot air jet produced bythe compressor for drying the fur of the pet; and electrical controlmeans for controlling said compressor.
 3. The basin of claim 2, whereinsaid flexible tube extends into a frusto-conical hose.
 4. The basinaccording to claim 1, further comprising a small vessel disposed withinthe well, said small vessel retaining toxic liquids therein.